Ten Things That Haven't Happened…
by Lady Silence
Summary: Ten randomish scenes in the Superman Returns universe that involve a very bitter Mary Sue who just wants to go home and the Caped Wonder himself. Poor guy. The rating is for language.
1. One

Title: Ten Things That Haven't Happened…  
Author: Silence  
Fandom: Superman Returns and Ohmygod! A Mary-Sue!  
Rating: Brought to you by the letters M, or as I used to remember, R. (Mostly for language, and I don't think I was that bad this time.)  
Pairing: It's certainly not Clois. Which is funny, because I'm a Clois shipper for all other versions of Superman. Huh. Go figure.  
Spoilers: Of course there are spoilers for the movie. There are hints and nods toward previous fics too, but nothing really informative.  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey, and believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.  
Summary: Ten moments in the life of a bitter Mary-Sue trapped in a reality she doesn't want to be in. Things happen.  
Notes: First of all, the only reason I wrote this was because I had these nagging plot bunnies in my head that would not shut the hell up. I had to write them all down just to get some peace of mind. If you're actually sitting here reading this? I totally apologize for this. Really. This is the product of two days worth of random scenes popping in my head for no reason.  
This fic may not make sense. _I_ wrote it and I'm not sure if _I_ understand it. It merely is what it is.  
While it helps to have read the previous fics to understand Lacey, it's not really necessary. All you need to really know is that she is a very bitter Mary-Sue who gets thrown into these situations involving fandoms that she likes, without warning, for cryptic reasons, and she hates it all.

Previous Fics to this: (All can be found here)  
Confessions of a Mary Sue (Finished)  
The Goddess Must Be Crazy (Unfinished.. oops.)  
The State of Denial & Delusions (WiP)

* * *

**_One_**

****

Oh, she hated this place. Lacey Voorhees, the Bitter Mary-Sue, had found herself stranded in Metropolis for the past three months and working as a secretary for Perry White. It was worse than her old job at Pizza Hut.

"Um, sorry." Thud. "Sorry!" Wham. "Sorry."

And she now knew that her life had just gotten worse. Clark Kent was making his clumsy return to the universe. That meant only one thing.

Another freakishly tall person in her personal space. Fuck.

As she silently poured her coffee, she watched as Clark spoke to Jimmy. Perry White chose that moment to make his presence known.

"Hey, Chief! Thanks for giving me my job back." Clark said with a grateful and a somewhat adorable yet geeky smile. Of course, that was after Perry asked Jimmy for photos about a homicidal clown thing.

"Don't thank me." Perry shouted back as he headed for his office. "Thank Norm Palmer for dying."

Lacey rolled her eyes as she headed back toward her desk. She was going to have to walk by Clark and Jimmy to get there. Joy. She noticed the stunned look on Clark's face as he glanced at Jimmy.

Jimmy tried to fix the awkward moment, but his comment didn't really help any. "Uh.. It was his time."

Moments like this could not be passed up on. Lacey was right next to them at this point, so she spoke up with a snort. "Only if you consider driving down the highway and being hit by a crashing helicopter 'his time'."

The pair turned to her with wide eyes. She could understand Clark's surprise; he didn't know her, but Jimmy? Poor wide eyed Jimmy. Three months should have taught him the rules of Lacey by now. Lacey sipped her coffee and kept her gaze on them. "Oh, and don't forget the mack truck that slammed into him afterward. They still haven't scraped all of him off the pavement."

Clark's big blue eyes were confused, as if he couldn't tell if she were joking or just being mean. "Um, isn't that a little harsh?"

"I wasn't the one flying the helicopter." Lacey said before resuming the trek to her desk.

Clark turned to Jimmy and swallowed. "Who was that?"

"That's the chief's secretary. She takes a bit of getting used to."


	2. Two

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey, and believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.

* * *

**_Two_**

****

Lacey rummaged around the desk drawer with a frustrated frown. Where the hell was it? She didn't even have to look up to know that the form looming above her now was Clark.

"Um, what are you doing at my desk?" He asked carefully.

Lacey was never one to pass up on moments anymore. She knew the fandom. She liked the movie. If she was going to be here, she was going to drive people nuts in the process. She lowered her head and mumbled as she rummaged. "So what do you wear? An extra long cape?"

Clark's eyes widened. Did he hear her right? He swallowed nervously. "What?"

Lacey grinned inwardly, but sighed aloud as she looked up at him. "I asked if you had some extra long tape. You know, to wrap a package in?"

The pair stared at each other. Clark knew she was lying. Lacey knew he knew she was lying. But neither one was going to confirm anything.

"Bottom.." Clark slowly replied as Lacey quickly pulled open the bottom drawer and snatched the tape. "..drawer."

Lacey hopped out of his desk chair with faux smile. She punched him lightly on the arm, and found it amusing as he moved with the punch and faked a wince. "Thanks, blue eyes. You're a lifesaver."


	3. Three

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey, and believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.

* * *

_**Three **_

Lacey spun around in her desk chair with a disgruntled sigh. Superman had come out of the hospital. Lex Luthor was found and arrested again. Lois was making eyes at her fiancé Richard. Little Jason was playing and possibly breaking a stapler at his mom's desk. Clark was sitting at his own desk and looking a little lost. Actually, he just looked like.. Clark. Not that there was much of a difference in Lacey's mind.

Lacey didn't understand why she was still here. She'd been living this force fed life in Metropolis for too long. It was different than the other situations she'd been in. No hints, no clues, no other Mary-Sues she could happily stab with an envelope opener. She was also going insane. That was what she liked telling herself anyway.

The clock struck four and Lacey exhaled in relief. "Break time." She said and jumped out of her seat. She grabbed her jacket and breezed by other workers as she headed for the elevators. She muttered to herself as she slid her jacket on. "With any luck the roof will be empty and I can throw myself over edge."

A few minutes later, Lacey was peering over the edge of the roof and trying not to let her mind spin. She hated, no. Wait. She _loathed_, heights. Fear. Falling. But here she was, willingly staring over the ledge.

It was a long way down. "I wonder how long it would take for me to actually hit the pavement..."

"That would imply that I'd let you fall."

Lacey spun around and found herself face to face with Superman. Yeah, she had teased Clark ever since the first day she met him. Mocked him. Laughed when he did something clumsy. But she'd never actually met him in _the_ suit. Not in person. She also knew her mouth was hanging open and she knew her eyes were wide from the surprise. (She would never admit there was a bit of awe involved as well.)

And he had the gall to smirk at her as if _he _knew something she didn't.

_I so don't think so_, Lacey thought. _We aren't going to go there, farmboy_. She closed her mouth and straightened her posture. "I wasn't _implying_ anything. I was just making a mental note for the future."

One of his eyebrows arched at her. "Your future involves falling from the roof?"

"Not falling. Jumping." She said coolly. "One day, I plan to fill all my pockets with candy and then I'll jump. That way, when I hit the pavement, there will be special candy prizes for those brave enough not to scream in horror at the blood and gore. I _have_ to think of others."

"You do know that I can usually tell when a person lies, don't you?"

"Ok, so I wasn't thinking of others. I was thinking about how if I'm going to die, I want to make it memorable."

The two stared at each other again.

"You're a very strange woman."

"I'm a woman who has no future." Lacey stated. His eyes widened slightly, because she seemed to honestly believe that.

He took a few cautious steps closer as if he expected her to turn and jump. "Why do you say that?"

"I keep getting fortune cookies without fortunes in them."

Once again, his blue eyes were wide. Lacey just stared blankly at him for a moment before she allowed a small smirk to quirk at the corners of her mouth.

As soon as she did, Superman laughed.


	4. Four

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey, and believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.

* * *

**_Four_**

"So that's how you draw a Balrog."

Jason White looked up at Lacey with a look of awe. "Wow. You're really good at that."

Lacey couldn't help but smile as she ruffled the mass amount of hair on his head. One day she was going to sneak a pair of scissors to those locks. "My mom liked to draw, so I learned from her."

"Balrogs are a little scary. Do you think Superman can beat one?"

Had it been an adult she was talking to, Lacey would have said no way in hell. The Balrog would have cracked Capeboy open like piñata all to get to the not quite candy insides.. But this was a kid. A cute little kid that looked so damn innocent. She grinned at him. "Superman doesn't have to take them on. A great and powerful wizard named Gandalf takes care of them. They can't beat him."

"Really?"

"Really. And if that doesn't work, I can scare him away with the contents of my refrigerator."

Jason made a face at her. Apparently tales of her kitchen efforts had actually spread to the child population of Metropolis. When she found out how, someone was going to be skinned alive.

"Hey, you two."

Lacey and Jason looked up to see Lois Lane and Richard White standing next to the desk. Jason practically leapt into Richard's arms with a grin that matched Richard's. "Hey, little man."

Jason's mother ruffled his hair with a serene smile. "Did you behave yourself, munchkin?"

Jason grinned and nodded. "Yeah! Lacey taught me how to draw a Balrog and how to play poker."

His parents exchanged a look and Lacey shrugged. "All I had in my drawer was a deck of cards and for the life of me, I couldn't remember how to play Snap."

After a few more polite comments and a thank you to Lacey for playing emergency babysitter for an hour and a half, the family left, leaving Lacey alone in the newsroom.

Well, not completely alone. She could hear the sound of someone typing. She looked around and noticed that Clark was at his desk. For a moment she wondered why he didn't just go home to finish his work at super speed, but then she remembered.

He'd want to be near Jason, just in case. Or maybe it was for comfort.

Lacey bit down on her lower lip while she stared at his back. Poor guy. Lacey didn't really know what to think about this world. Lois seemed even more in love with Richard then ever as of late, despite the secret of Jason's parentage. This world was a _little_ skewed from what she thought was canon.

Maybe that was putting it lightly.

Lacey found herself wanting to help Clark out. With what, she didn't know. But she knew what it felt like to be the one that didn't belong. She was feeling it now. She picked up a piece of scrap paper and crumpled it into a ball.

Clark was either faking, or completely lost in his thoughts, because the paper ball hit him in the back of the head. He turned in his seat to see Lacey playing up the innocent act by reading a Forbes magazine with Bruce Wayne on the cover.

The act may have been more effective if the magazine wasn't in Spanish and Lacey's inability to speak anything but Lacey Speak wasn't already well known on their floor.

A tentative smile fought its way to Clark's face as Lacey dared to sneak a look at him.

_It was a start_, Lacey thought.


	5. Five

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey. And believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.

* * *

_**Five **_

Lacey wondered just what she had done to deserve this. Of course, several things actually came to mind, but that really wasn't the point, despite the previous thought. All she had wanted to do was go to the museum and look at some art. Was that so wrong?

Considering she was one of three hostages near a creepy looking statue of Death, apparently so. One minute she was thinking about how the statue reminded her of her eighth grade math teacher, the next she had the barrel of a gun jabbing her in the back.

She was _not_ a happy camper. Her two fellow hostages were crying. Wimps. Lacey wanted to snort in disgust, but really, it wasn't their fault they didn't deal with balrogs, orcs, wizards, and other supernatural creatures that made you cry for mommy while hiding in the closet with a shotgun and holy water.

"Hey, are you going to be done anytime soon?" Lacey snapped at their desperate little gun wielders. She vaguely recalled them mentioning something about some painting with a map to the ultimate treasure on it, but she hadn't really been paying attention. "It's Tuesday and I want to watch the new episode of Veronica Mars that I Tivoed before the spoilers start raiding all the message boards I surf on."

One of the more frantic thugs in a mask glared at her. At least she assumed it was glare. Hello? Mask. "Are you kidding me? We have you at gunpoint and you're worried about your tv?"

"Obviously." Lacey shrugged. "I want to know who did the crime in this pod. I've invested two years in that show and I'm going to find out what happens, even if I have to come back from the dead as a brain eating, rotting corpse, with flesh sliding off my putrid body as I moan about eating brains because it makes the pain go away."

The goon gagged. Amateur. She hadn't even gotten to the rancid smell or the actual description of gore.

"Hey, do you hear something?" One of the flunkies asked.

Goon number three shrugged as he looked behind another painting. "It's just your imagination."

Lacey couldn't help it now. She _had_ to antagonize them. She started to softly chant Jason's theme from the Friday the 13th movie franchise. "Ch ch ch, kill kill kill…"

For a moment, it confused them until the shaky one of the group pointed his gun at her. "Stop that! You're freaking me out!"

This time, Lacey actually did snort. "God, you are such a fucking wuss."

Whatever he was about to say in return was effectively cut off, because within a few minutes, a flash of red and blue had taken all three thugs out.

The thugs struggled against their new bindings as police finally entered the building. The other two hostages gushed their thanks to Superman, but Lacey just stared at him. When the cops began leading them away for their statements, Superman turned his attention to Lacey.

His face was a stoic mask as he spoke. "Let me guess, you had a fortune cookie today."

It was Lacey's turn to laugh, and she did, despite the strange looks she got from the cops.


	6. Six

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey. And believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.

**_

* * *

_**

**_Six_**

When he arrived at the Planet one October morning, Clark found a purple box with his name on it, sitting on his desk. He took a quick peek on the inside with his x-ray vision and was surprised to see that the box contained cookies. He looked around the busy newsroom, but there were no hints on who may have left them there.

Strange. He sat down and opened the box, his curiosity at a new height. It was a little late for the cookies to be a welcome back offering. Besides, no one but Jimmy would have bothered with that.

"You have cookies?"

He looked up at Lacey, who was clutching a steaming fresh Mocha as if it were a lifeline. "Apparently. Would you like one?"

Lacey shook her head. "You're kidding me, right?" At his confused expression, she rolled along. "I had an orange soda, a bag of Skittles, and a small bag of gummi bears this morning for breakfast. Now I'm working on a mocha. You put any more sugar in me and I'm likely to try and take over the world with a tin foil sword, an invisible plane named Bob, and a random red shirt as a sidekick slash meat shield."

Clark blinked at her. "Oka-- Did you just name your invisible plane Bob?"

"What's wrong with Bob?" Lacey asked and looked a little defensive. "It's a good name! I mean, I'd use Norman, but I'm saving that for the abominable snowman I plan on having as a bodyguard and pet."

"But you just named a plane-"

"So?" She sipped her mocha and quirked an eyebrow up. "Guys name other things that really do _not_ need names."

She couldn't be referring to.. Who was he kidding? Of course she was. Even he knew that by now. He absently took a cookie out as he tried not to overdo the embarrassed Clark act. "Not all-"

"Lies! They all do. They just don't admit it to everyone. I somehow doubt it would make a stellar first date conversation." She watched him impatiently as he ate a cookie. "Well?"

"Well what?" Clark replied instantly, even though his mouth was partially full. He quickly swallowed. "Sorry.. What?"

"Is it any good?" Lacey sighed in exasperation. "Just because I can't have any, doesn't mean I can't live vicariously through others."

"Actually, they _are_ pretty good." Clark admitted. He wished he knew who had left them. Then he could thank them for their thoughtfulness.

Lacey was about to reply, when Perry's voice boomed at her. "Lacey! Where did you-"

"Your inbox, Mr. White." Lacey answered before he could finish.

"What about-"

"Three-fourteen this afternoon. Don't be late, because Doctor Mandrell has to pick up his son at practice at four thirty." Lacey glanced toward Perry, who had already returned to his office; apparently content with the information she gave him. Even so, Lacey couldn't help but sigh. Even though she had discovered she was a pretty decent secretary, she still hated this place. Although, she _did_ love her apartment. If she could, she would have married it by now. She returned her focus on Clark, who she caught staring at her oddly. "What?"

Clark looked innocent. "Nothing."

"You were staring."

"I didn't mean to."

"Why were you staring? Is there something in my hair? Did someone put a kick me sign on me? Because if they did, I'm going to hunt them down for sport and str-"

Clark had to a stop her before went on a wild tangent. "No, no. It was nothing. I didn't mean to. It just occurred to me that I don't know much about you."

She shrugged. "There really isn't anything to know, blue eyes." Lacey sipped her mocha again. "I'd better get to work. Ciao."

"Oh, okay." Clark responded and watched her head for her desk. Just who was this woman that both Lois and Richard actually trusted to watch Jason?


	7. Seven

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey. And believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.

* * *

_**Seven**_

Lacey swore as she stumbled down the empty hallway. She stopped and knelt down to massage one of her ankles. "Damn it. How the fuck do I manage to stumble when there isn't anything around to trip up on?"

It was late in Metropolis, but here she was, still in the Daily Planet building, trying to reorganize some files that the temp that had taken her place had scattered around. She had been home sick with the flu and upon returning, she'd discovered that she had missed out on a Bruce Wayne appearance at the Planet. Fuck. That would have almost made this scenario worth it. Mmm. Bale. But if that weren't enough, the temp had either eaten or moved her stash of Skittles from her desk.

Lacey looked up and could see the snow falling beyond the window. It was December already. When Halloween had come, it wasn't so bad. Her neighbor had invited her to a costume party that she threw every year. She'd had fun, so it helped ease the pangs of missing her family.

But then Thanksgiving had come. She'd spent it alone, allowing herself to actually wallow in her miserable state of life. She'd even done the unthinkable and downed an entire bottle of cheap wine all by herself. Boy, did she regret _that_ the following morning.

It was now the _real_ holiday season. The big one.

She hadn't even realized she'd moved from her spot in the hallway, until she found herself touching the cold glass of the window. The snow was everywhere in the city, but it was turning to slush quickly enough. But at night, in the darkness, the starlight, with the city lights.. It almost made one believe the snow would remain a cold but lovely blanket to decorate the city.

Christmas was going to kill her. She knew this. She also knew she should get back to work. But she didn't budge. She wanted to go home.

At this point, she'd settle for a Chevy Impala and its owners.

Lacey shook her head. Enough of the pity party. Save it for The Day. She turned on her heel and headed for her desk. As soon as she was there, instead of working, she grabbed her coat and headed for the elevators. She wanted to be up on the roof again.

Soon enough, she was standing on the snow-covered rooftop and staring over the ledge again. The rooftop moments of solitude were becoming a new habit for her. Lacey liked to think it was her way of trying to kill her fear of heights, but in reality, it was a way to remind her that no matter how high you got, you could always fall down.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been standing there while clutching her coat closed and just watching the snow fall.

"Working late?"

Lacey sighed inwardly. It figured. The caped one had probably been doing his fly by sweep of the city. She didn't bother turning around as she leaned over the edge again. "I prefer to think of it as paid procrastination." She heard him chuckle lightly and she closed her eyes. Mm. Snow. "I have the strong desire to build a snowman."

She could feel the warmth radiate from him as he joined her at the ledge. "So why don't you?"

"Because I make really lousy snowmen." She smirked and sent an amused glance his way. "They look like defective mutants that got a little touch of the fire happys." Lacey kept her eyes on him. "So what's up? I mean, you're Superman. You should be out there fighting the good fight. Why are you standing here talking to me?"

"I'm making sure you haven't had any run ins with rogue fortune cookies." He replied with a mildly amused tone.

"I had take out yesterday and I actually got a fortune." Lacey announced proudly. "It said '_You are almost there_'. I'm pretty sure it was in reference to that glorious day when I finally take over the world."

Superman smiled at her, knowing by now that she was kidding. "Exactly how are you going to do that?"

"I can't actually tell you. But it does involve the Burger King guy and the Quaker Oats guy." Lacey shuddered. "Those commercials still freak me out and I've seen some scary shit." After being gifted with another light laugh from Superman, Lacey allowed herself to go quiet.

The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable, which was a little odd considering who they were and the fact they really didn't know each other at all.

It was shattered by Lacey's now quiet voice. "Do you ever get tired of keeping people away? Never letting them know the truth? Even when you know it's better that way?"

Superman looked at her, only to find her staring down at the streets below. Something about the way she spoke told him that she wasn't asking about his own situation. He took a deep breath. "Sometimes. Why do you ask?"

"Because I keep doing it. Doesn't matter w- And there I go. Doing it again." She chewed on her lower lip. Breathe. Chill. Her eyes closed. "You aren't a savior you know."

His watchful eyes never wavered even though she had changed the subject rather quickly. "I never claimed to be."

"People like thinking you are. Which isn't fair to you or to them." She began tapping her booted foot onto the roof. "Instead of being inspired by you, too many people shrug off responsibility to you. Why do it themselves when Superman can do it for them? So, when you decide to go off and find something of your own, you get saddled with a guilt complex as soon as you come back, all because of the things you missed while you were gone."

Lacey wasn't done yet. "Yes, you have powers. Yes, it's up to you to use them responsibly. But it's not up to you to remain frozen on some narrow pedestal. You aren't here to coddle humanity like an overprotective nanny. You're here to just do the best you can at whatever it is you choose to do. It's the glory of free will and if anyone deserves a shot at something for themselves, it's you. Even if it's like, a pet cow named Horatio that acts like an elephant in a ballet."

"May I ask where this is coming from?"

Lacey pushed herself away from the ledge. "It's something that's been nagging at me for awhile. I figured I may as well say it all now before I snap and do it in public."

He found himself wanting to break the moment of melancholy that filled the air. He also knew by now that something kind wouldn't cut it. "The flaw in that plan is that it would actually require me to talk to you in public." He knew he was smirking now. "Why would I subject myself to that?"

He found his reply in the form of snow being thrown in his direction.


	8. Eight

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey. And believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.

_**

* * *

Eight**_

"It looks like Santa threw up." Lacey scowled at the holiday party in front of her. So _this_ was her life now. Being subjected to an office party. She leaned against the doorframe with a bored expression. The holiday atmosphere made her want to pull a Carrie.

"It's not that bad." Lois assured her. She flashed a dazzling smile at Richard, who flashed one back before resuming his conversation with someone from sports.

"You only say that because you've had a couple of glasses of alcohol filled eggnog."

"That's not why I say it, but it doesn't actually hurt my reasoning either." Lois shook her head. Lacey was a strange one, but she liked her. "Just relax. You'll have fun."

Lacey watched Lois walk away to talk to Cat Grant and she turned around to leave, only to run right into Clark. Literally. She had run right into the broad chest that hid behind his suits and the klutzy Clark persona.

"Swell." She muttered and rubbed her now sore shoulder, just as Clark apologized profusely. She held up a hand to cut him off. "It's ok. It was my fault."

"It was my-" Clark stopped and looked concerned. "Are you leaving already?"

Lacey shrugged. "I was thinking about it. I'm not really into the work party thing." She frowned at his expression. Did he look a little disappointed? No, it was just the typical Clark mask.

"It's not really my idea of fun either-"

She came to a sudden decision and grabbed his wrist. "I've got an idea. Come with me." She didn't even notice Clark's lack of protesting as she dragged him away from the party.

* * *

"Can you tell me why we're eating ice cream in the middle of winter while sitting on park swings?" 

Lacey savored her strawberry cheesecake ice cream as the swing underneath her squeaked while she swayed in it. "Because we can, blue eyes. Obviously."

Clark could only stare at her. Every time he thought he had her pegged, she did something new. His first major shock was when he found out from Cat Grant that it was Lacey who had left him the cookies. Then there were the strange interludes she'd have with him when he was Superman.. They bantered. She got _him_ to banter. It was a strange. He mentally shook the train of thought away. "Aren't you cold?"

Lacey barely heard him, as she was lost in ice cream bliss. That or she was numb from cold. It was a toss up, but she didn't care. Cheesecake ice cream. Yum. She took a moment and glanced down at herself. She was wearing her warmest coat over a simple burgundy dress with a flared skirt that stopped around her knees. She'd paired it off with a nice pair of black boots, because heels were her enemy. Cold? Nah.

She shivered. So maybe she was a _little_ cold, but she'd never admit it.

"Of course I am, but that's part of the fun." Ok, so she _would_ admit it. She devoured another spoonful of ice cream. "Besides, cold isn't too bad. Back in Missouri, I used to have to wait at the corner for the bus to school for about fifteen minutes. There would be snow on the ground and I'd still be standing there in a pair of summer shorts just because."

"You're from Missouri?" Clark asked, a little surprised. In the couple of months or so that he'd known her, she'd never once mentioned where she came from.

She nodded with the plastic spoon in her mouth. Lacey then drove the spoon back into her ice cream. "The state of denial and delusions. Born and raised in a small town there. But I moved to Jefferson City right after high school and then one day I just found my way to Metropolis." At least she was being honest about most of it. Why bother trying to explain the Mary-Sue crap? It wouldn't change anything.

Lacey was being cagey, that much Clark could tell. He wanted to know more, but he had a feeling that if he pried, she'd shut down. He definitely didn't want that. "Are you going back there for Christmas?" Her swing stopped movement and he realized he said the wrong thing.

Her gaze fell to the snow. "No. There isn't anything there for me now."

Now Clark felt like an idiot. "Oh, I'm sorry. I did-"

Her head snapped up and she spun her swing around, letting the chains creak as they twisted, allowing her to face him better. "Psh. You didn't know. It doesn't matter anyway. Just me is cool." Liar liar. They both knew it. "It means I only look out for one person." She sighed and offered him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Don't dwell on it."

He sighed. So she was alone. That explained some of her personality quirks. Even with this information, he found himself asking a possibly painful question. "Then what are you doing for Christmas?"

"Honestly?" She asked and he nodded for her to continue. "I was going to wallow, but then I decided, 'Screw that'. Besides, I really didn't want an uber hangover rerun. So I volunteered to help my neighbor, Gina, at the hospital she works at for Christmas. They do this whole Santa thing for the kids who can't go home for the holidays. I figure that since I have the time, I may as well put it to good use. Besides, kids are cool."

Clark listened to her as she started rambling about all the run ins she'd had with kids that cemented her opinion on them. He knew she had a soft spot just by the way she treated Jason, so hearing her talk about it wasn't that much of a shock. After she stopped rambling about kids, they somehow started sharing tales of the Midwest. She found out how he used to be the water boy for the football team, he found out that she died in a horror movie her sister wrote and filmed as a teenager, they shared their losses, and they skirted issues about certain other topics. At some point, they had run out of ice cream, but they were still sitting and talking in the cold night air.

"I was so mad that I took my mom's most expensive bottle of perfume.." Lacey paused for effect. "And I drank it. A kid drunk on perfume. Memorable moment."

Clark couldn't hide the grin he gave her. "You _drank_ it?"

She took on a mock look of defense and threw her hands up into the air. "I was _five_. I couldn't think of anything-- Holy hell." Her eyes had noticed the time on her watch. "It's almost eleven."

Had it been that long? It hadn't seemed like it. Clark's eyes widened. "You must be frozen!"

Lacey shivered. Actually, she hadn't really noticed the cold until he mentioned it. The wonders of denial. "Well, I wasn't _before_, but thanks for reminding me." She said with a roll of her eyes as Clark rose out of his swing.

Clark stepped in front of her and offered her his hand. He ignored the shifty look and eye roll when she accepted the help. Unfortunately, one of them did something wrong when he pulled her up, because a moment later, Clark had slipped and landed on his back in the snow.

Lacey yelped when she landed on top of him and she heard him groan underneath her.

"Ow."

Maybe it was the way he said it. Maybe it was just the fact he did. Either way, it made her lock her eyes with his. Brown eyes versus blue eyes. Color smack down. She giggled and he could only stare at her as mirth filled her eyes. "For the record, this doesn't count as second base."

Lacey had expected Clark to blush, fumble, heck, anything 'Clark-like' at her comment. What she didn't expect was for him to laugh as cheerfully as he did.

Maybe she was doing something good here after all.


	9. Nine

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey. And believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.

* * *

**_Nine_**

It was Christmas day and Lacey had to admit that even though she was missing home, watching the kids take turns talking to Santa was pretty fun and uplifting. Today, she was the lucky elf in charge of taking pictures. Lacey stopped her picture snapping and checked the space on her memory card. There was still plenty left before she needed to switch to another card.

Lacey was snapping a few more shots of the kids sitting near the tree when the excited young voices all hushed. She frowned as they all stared at something behind her. Hell, even Santa had gone wide eyed. Her brow crinkled and she turned around. What in the world could have them- Oh.

Superman was there. Not a guy pretending to be Superman. _The_ Superman. She'd know those blue eyes anywhere. Lacey was stunned, but at the same time she wasn't surprised. He was super boy scout. If he knew something like this was happening and he had time, he'd probably show up for the kids. And she _had_ mentioned it to him.. Huh. Interesting. So Lacey did the only thing she could.

She snapped a picture. No sooner had the first flash faded; the silent moment was beaten to a bloody pulp as the kids all freaked out over the superhero. After that, Lacey realized she was very glad she brought plenty of memory cards for her camera.

* * *

The hospital staff had finally whisked the kids away to their rooms, _after_ they all made Lacey promise to bring their photos of Superman as soon as they were ready. Lacey had to pinky swear, cross her heart, swear on a soul (though she couldn't remember who's soul), and sign a makeshift contract on the back of some wrapping paper. 

"Damn those kids are thorough." Lacey mumbled as she put her things away.

Her neighbor, Gina, grinned at her. "Aren't they? New kids every year, but in the end, they act the same. Be lucky that none of them tried to get you to sign in blood." She pat Lacey's shoulder. "Thanks for helping out."

"No problem." It really hadn't been. "I had a blast." She had. "I even got candy canes out of the deal. Sugar is never a bad incentive in my world." Then she gestured to the red and green elf dress she was wearing. "Besides, what other time of the year am I going to get away with an outfit like this?"

A hand reached out and played with the end of her red elf hat. "Don't forget to mention the hat."

Gina's eyes filled with wonder as Lacey playfully swatted at Superman's hand. "But it would look so much better on _you_, what with that curl of yours." Lacey smiled sweetly at him before sticking her tongue out at him. Childish? Yes, but Lacey was never one for maturity.

Gina wanted to ask how they seemed so casual around each other, but she saw her boss waving her down. She bid them both a polite farewell and went back to work.

That left the Mary-Sue and Superman staring at each other.

Lacey broke the silence first as she slung her tote over her shoulder. She could have asked him why he was there. She could have told him that is was cool he showed up. There were a great many things she _could _have said. Unfortunately, she said the first thing to pop into her head. "Did you get a hospital bill when you were in here?"

The question caught him off guard, but it got him to smile. "No, I can't say that I did. Why?"

"Just curious." Lacey shrugged. God, she said the stupidest things at times. She leaned her head back and her sight fell on something hanging above Superman. She kept her face blank as she calmly started to look through her bag. She spoke as she searched. "It was nice of you to be here, though I'm surprised you _did_ come."

"Why is that?"

"Well," She continued to rummage around her bag. "You could be off anywhere, doing anything. Punching time. Saving the world from ravenous monkeys trying to get free cable. Rescuing Solid Snake from a vicious crab battle. But here you are. Playing with sick kids. It's keen."

"Keen?" Superman chuckled and folded his arms across his chest. "I used to do things like this before I left. I had almost forgotten what it felt like."

Success! Lacey found what she was looking for and she looked up at him. And she had to actually look up. Damn it, he was tall. "What does it feel like?"

He smiled down at her. "It feels good."

Lacey nodded in understanding as she removed her hat. She pushed a few strands of her dark hair out of her line of sight and then she quickly placed the elf hat on Superman's head. When his eyes widened in surprise, she grabbed his hand and slid a small object into it.

He gave her a confused look, but Lacey just smiled and lightly punched him on the arm. "You have a good heart. Don't ever let that change." She danced away from him and grabbed her coat. She turned around and pointed above him with a smirk. "Merry Christmas, blue eyes."

As she left him alone, Superman looked up to see mistletoe hanging above him. He glanced down and looked in his hand to find a Hershey's Kiss in it. He laughed.. But then a thought hit him like a hammer.

Blue eyes? She called Clark that. And with the cape comment he was almost sure she said months ago…


	10. Ten

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey. And believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.

* * *

_**Ten**_

The Game Masters of the Unknown 7590436 Points.  
The Very Bitter and Unwilling Mary-Sue -666 Points.

Lacey stared at the numbers she had scribbled out on the Post It in front of her. It was New Year's Eve (afternoon/early evening actually) and she was working. Gina had wanted her to come to her New Year's party and Lacey had actually thought about dropping by.

At least she was up until the news came on. Some genetically bred psychokinetic soldier had broken loose from a hidden research and development group in the city.

Naturally, the Daily Planet had sprung into motion. Hell, it was Lois that had broken the story in the first place. Reporters were sent out. People were snapping photos. Everyone was rushing around.

Psycho boy was not a happy camper and had decided to try and tear down the city single handedly. At least that's what it seemed from all the news stations.

Too bad no one told him that Superman had come back.

They had shown most of the fight on the news, and even though psycho boy had given pretty a good fight, Superman once again proved he was better. When he had finally stopped the psychokinetic, the entire newsroom cheered as they watched it on the news.

Except Lacey. It wasn't that she wasn't glad the psycho had been stopped. She just wasn't a cheering kind of woman.

"Hi."

Lacey turned her head to see Jason standing next to her. She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Hey, kiddo. Shouldn't you be in your dad's office?"

"Daddy's office is boring." Jason smiled back at her. "Can we play poker?"

* * *

Lacey and Jason were sitting on the floor of Richard's office, playing a makeshift game of poker, and using colored paperclips as chips. That was where and how Lois, Richard, and Clark found them. 

The trio exchanged curious expressions before looking back at the pair. Both of them had looks of concentration on their faces. At almost the same second, they lowered their cards to stare each other down. It was very surreal to see a four year old staring down an adult.

"Call it." Jason announced.

Lacey set her cards down. "Four nines." She arched an eyebrow at Jason..

And he beamed at her when he set his cards down. "Royal straight flush!" He gathered the 'winnings' with a laugh as Lacey shook her head in disbelief. "I win!"

"I'm so glad we didn't use real mo-" Lacey stopped at the snickering and chuckles coming from their audience. She glared at the offending party. "It's not funny! He won almost every hand!" She waved a hand toward the stockpile of paperclips that Jason had next to him. "I created a poker monster."

Jason giggled and dodged the card Lacey tossed at him as he ran over to his parents. "It was fun! Hi, Mr. Clark!"

Lacey watched silently as she cleaned up their mess from the games. There were greetings, smiles, laughs, and the Lane-White family left. Lois wanted to work on her story from the comfort of her home..

And Clark had a wistful look on his face as they left.

Lacey wondered if she was going to have to start from square one on her unofficial 'Keep Clark from Drama Lama Land' mission. The sound of her dropping the paperclips into a plastic bin seemed to snap Clark out of his lapse from reality.

Clark gave her a sheepish smile before joining her. He crouched down and began to help with the clean up. "You're really good with him."

"It's not hard." Lacey said with a shrug. "He's like one of the sweetest kids in the world." She smiled at him. In her mind she found it odd that she could smile so much in this damn reality. She smiled more around here than she ever did in her own. It bugged her. "He likes you."

"Technically, he likes everyone." Clark corrected. He tried to hide the sharp pain of not being able to do anything about his son.

"Hopefully that trait will stick with him a long time." Lacey said as she slid the deck of cards back into their box. "So, what are you doing tonight? Party? Drinking? Buying Esurance online?"

He closed the small bin and picked it up as he stood up. "Oh no, nothing that exciting." Truth be told, he just wanted to relax. That fight earlier had actually hurt. He even had a few bruises to prove it. "What about you?"

Lacey got up with a stretch, walked past him, and out the office door. "Meh. I was invited to a party, but I'll more than likely end up watching '200 Cigarettes' or something." Once at her desk, she placed the cards back in the drawer and snatched the paperclip bin from Clark's hands. "But I'm a little tempted to just wander around town tonight. It's my first New Year's in a place like this."

"Really?" Clark asked and watched her set the bin on the top of her desk. She turned around and sat on the edge of the desk with a shrug. "I mean, by yourself? Sounds a little dangerous when you've never done it before."

Lacey smirked at him. "I'm a big girl, blue eyes. I've been around worse odds then a city full of revelers."

She seemed to be telling the truth and that made Clark's interest go up a point. He made a face. "Still.. Maybe I should go with you." He was rewarded with a light punch to his arm that he had to pretend to wince at.

"Sweet of you to offer, but you go on and do whatever it is you were planning to." She grabbed her tote bag and coat from her chair after hopping off the desktop. "I'm sure you've earned it."

"It wouldn't be any trouble." Clark insisted while he watched her pull her coat on.

Lacey pulled a black winter beret out of her coat pocket and carefully arranged it on her head before giving him a 'look'. "Tell me the truth, Clark. Are you offering because you think I can't take care of myself or are you offering to make your own good guy sensibilities feel better?"

It was one of those questions when you really couldn't win with either answer and they both knew it. But Lacey waited expectantly and Clark sighed. "Mostly the second."

Lacey nodded knowingly as she walked away. "Thought as much." She left him standing there staring after her, but she stopped halfway across the newsroom. She turned around while putting her gloves on. "Well? Are you coming with me or not?"

* * *

After wandering aimlessly around the city, with several moments where Clark had to 'excuse himself', stopping for dinner, and at least five cups of mint hot chocolate (that was just Lacey), it was finally nearing midnight. 

"I have never really understood the big fuss about New Year's." Lacey slid her hands into her coat pockets. "People claim to celebrate it, but it's really just an excuse to get drunk and be stupid. Kind of like Mardi Gras and the Superbowl."

Clark found himself trying to figure out how she had changed the subject from electronic pets to the night's festivities even as he replied back. "I think it's a way to put the past events behind them and to give people a chance to look forward to things to come." He timed it. Three, two, one, and there was the roll of her eyes.

"In order to forget, they have to get smashed and kill the brain cells? That's insane." Lacey shook her head. "It's ridiculous."

"Didn't you mention that you once had, and I quote, 'an uber hangover'?"

"It was a lapse in judgment." Lacey said in a defensive manner. "It won't happen again." She paused in front of a store window to look at the carnival display behind the glass. "You didn't get hurt today, did you?" She didn't notice the slightly startled expression on his face as she looked at the tiny figurines. "After all, you were out there covering the fight like Lois was."

That's when he _really_ knew that _she_ knew. He had suspected for a while, and the moment in the hospital had almost confirmed it, but he'd never actually had any proof. He didn't have any real proof now, but somehow, he _knew_. His voice was low when he replied. "You know, don't you."

Lacey glanced up at his nearly impassive expression. It was about time he acknowledged all of her messed up hints. "I know a great many things, Clark." She started walking down the sidewalk again and Clark quickly joined her. "Doesn't mean I'm going to actually share my knowledge."

Clark sighed. "How?"

"Does it matter?" Lacey didn't see the point on the reasons why. She knew. He knew she knew. There was a lot of knowing between them. "It doesn't change anything. You're you. I'm me. Enough said."

"Is it really that simple to you?" He asked her with a curious look.

She stopped and turned to look at him. "It _is_ just that simple. Why make it complicated when it doesn't have to be?"

"But-"

"No. No buts." Lacey stared up at him with a slight glare. "Have I ever treated you any differently each time we interact? No. And honestly? I don't see the point in doing anything different on my end unless there's a real need for it. But that was always my thought about it anyway."

The pair stared at each other. Clark was thinking about the dangers of her knowing. Not the dangers to him, but the ones that could come her way. Lacey was thinking about how he obviously liked having the safety blanket of secrecy wrapped around him. Sure, he acted like he wanted to share, but the blanket was a shield he could stay safe with while avoiding outwardly hurting others as well as himself.

She, for one, was sick of it in her own personal life. It didn't work on Middle Earth. It didn't even have a chance of working in Hogwarts. With the Winchesters, it nearly broke her. Here? After thinking long and hard about her Thanksgiving moment, she just wasn't going to have it. If asked by someone who she decided to trust, she'd tell. Screw it if they didn't believe her. Screw it if they got hurt in the process. People got hurt. It was a reality. But people also healed if you gave them a chance.

The sound of a large group of people heading their way snapped Clark out of the stare down. He grabbed Lacey by the shoulders and steered the startled woman into the nearest doorway as a moving party of people practically danced by. They couldn't very well finish the conversation if they were trampled.

It may have been a bad move, because she was now trapped between him and a door. Lacey's gaze was on the people partying as they passed, but Clark was staring down at her. What was it about her? He just could not figure her out no matter how much he paid attention, and he had been trying. He didn't know why, but he was.

Once the coast was clear, Lacey looked up at Clark expectantly. She expected him to step aside. She expected that she might need to push on past him. Or at least attempt to.

She didn't expect him to kiss her.

It wasn't some kind of world spinning off on its axis kiss. It wasn't oh my god instant true love. It didn't save the world or shatter mountains. Whatever it _was_, it made Clark think that she tasted like mint and chocolate. It made Lacey think that the former last son of Krypton may have finally snapped. (There was slight guilt that it was her fault, but she'd get over that quickly enough.)

They didn't really notice it had struck midnight until after the kiss ended. Confused brown eyes stared up at surprised blue ones as cheers and shouts of celebration filled the streets.

What the moment really was, was a small taste of hope for each of them for different reasons.

Clark honestly couldn't think of why he did it. But he smiled down at her even as she quirked an eyebrow upward.

"Does this mean I have to start ignoring those empty fortune cookies?"

He laughed as he pulled her close for a hug and placed a light kiss on the top of her head.

The new year was going to be interesting.


End file.
